CHEAP STAPLES

"Something as simple as a white shirt can be luxurious to someone," says designer Alexander Wang. "Everyone has his or her own idea of what luxury is." For him, luxury is designing well-priced basics in easy-to-wear fabrics and cuts. After all, the 26-year-old cleverly warmed up to recession-friendly prices early in the game, in 2008 creating his T line, an ever-expanding collection of lower-priced staples that started off with soft tees and tanks but this fall is growing to a full brand, complete with skinny pants and capes. Many other young designers are following suit. Edgy downtown New York designer Yigal Azrouel is launching his Cut 25 line of digitally printed frocks, glittery miniskirts, and layerable cotton separates, most of which ring in under $500. Bloomingdale's recently signed on Vena Cava duo Sophie Buhai and Lisa Mayock to bring their flirty French-girl aesthetic to a limited-edition capsule collection, featuring ruffled blouses, soft cotton studded shorts, and geometric-patterned dresses, under the label Vena Cava for Aqua. Out in September, the line has prices from $98 to $198. But if your weakness falls more in the fancy-footing category, the introduction of Salvatore Ferragamo's new lower